And so Benghazi fades, the VA story fades, the missing plane, the missing girls in Africa, Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, IRS, the list goes on, all fade from the headlines in this attention-deficit, 24/7 news cycle.

None have been resolved – yet they fade from our minds as if we are moving through "It’s A Small World," sans that annoying music, quickly from country to country with no real purpose to any of the exhibits.

This week our focus is on the tragedy at our southern border, as streams of tens of thousands of "refugees" suddenly appear, all at once, all claiming to be escaping political persecution, economic despair and the ravages of violence in their own countries.

This week we are seemingly as helpless on this issue as we have been on all of the others of late. An old adage comes to mind: “The first steps toward getting somewhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are." Even this has become a difficult task, deciding to act, deciding to take definitive action following the rule of law and imbibed with the old American can-do spirit. We seem to embrace the axiom that taking no action is an action, while the consequences of inaction mount.

It seems the theme for this week regarding the tens of thousands crossing our border is -- they are fleeing gang violence. Maybe we should have sent them to Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday weekend; 60 wounded and nine killed in gang-related violence. They would likely decide to walk home where it might be safer.

Chicago is a symptom of a broader illness. Two and three generations ago families in the South sent their children to relatives in the North, cities like Chicago, because they thought they would be free from prejudice and so they could pursue opportunities in the growing industrialization in urban areas.

Although living in Illinois for a while revealed prejudices I had not experienced in Florida for many years, the systemic chances were more available there in the 1930-1950s. I fear that now there should be families in Chicago considering sending their children south, where they can be safe and pursue their new dreams.

Times change and evil takes many forms. Some regions or cities are ill, and some have a deep malignancy -- parts of Chicago now are on life support, as are parts of our New South, where nine of the top 20 most dangerous U.S. cities are located.

The immigrants flowing north now are also seeking opportunities, although there is a vast difference between our own citizens migrating and foreign citizens sneaking in or advancing in a human tsunami. Hope beats eternal in the human heart, as does a desire to be better off tomorrow than you are today. However, rule of law should always prevail, even while humanitarian actions take place.

There are so many issues in this complex world that maybe we jump from square to square because we just don’t have the will or the ways to solve these vexing problems. Immigration reform has withered on the vine in Washington due to inaction and an unwillingness to tackle a highly complex, interwoven series of issues. No progress has been made and the blame can be laid all around.

When the solutions to individual problems bump up against other issues and we land face to face with new problems, it lies within the political being to retreat and leave issues unresolved.

In all this, what we seem to be missing most is the ingredient of leadership. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Rarely do we find men willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

America needs leadership as it hasn’t needed for a long, long time. Progress can only be made when leaders step forth, resist the easy, lay out a comprehensive strategy and have the courage to both stay the course and accept blame for errors and omissions. Our failure to address immigration issues, both illegal and legal, leaves us all stranded in the mire we see now along our own borders.

Ed H. Moore, Ph.D., is president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

Comments (2)

RGMerrick238

10:33AM JUL 14TH 2014

Join Americans for Sgt Andrew Tahmooressi Day on Friday, July 18, 2014
Every Member of the US Congress, the President and the US Secretary of State have failed to obtain the release of US Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi from a Mexican prison when his only crime was making a wrong turn at the US/Mexican border over 100 days ago. American Citizens can join together on behalf of Sgt. Tahmooressi on July 18, 2014 by taking these steps:

1. Observe Sergeant Tahmooressi Day on July 18, 2014. Circulate this letter to every American Citizen you know - - relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, everyone. Spread the word now so 300 million Americans will be holding our government employees accountable for Sgt. Tahmooressi's safe return to USA on Friday, July 18, 2014. Ask them to join all Americans to support the immediate release of Sgt. Tahmooressi from the Mexican prison. Americans can show our incompetent politicians and a corrupt Mexican government that we will fight and win when cowards we have in Washington won't fight for a US Marine who fought for our Country. Show Mexico that We, the American People, are united in demanding the immediate release of Sgt. Tahmooressi so he is safely returned to the US before sunset on Friday, July 18, 2014.

2. Take the Pledge: I am an American who demands that the Mexican Government immediately returns Sergeant Tahmooressi to the USA. If he is not returned before sunset on July 18, 2014, I will join 300 million American Citizens in boycotting all commerce, products and services of Mexico at the rate of one day for every minute his return is delayed* to the United States. When I shop in food markets, hardware and furniture stores, clothing outlets and the internet, I will check to be sure that no item I purchase came from Mexico. I will not vacation or visit Mexico. I will not employ Mexican workers or enable Mexicans to send American dollars to Mexico. I will not support American companies with factories in Mexico. I will write or call my Congressional Representative and Senators to demand they halt all US foreign aid and assistance to Mexico.

3. Vote for Action: The attached roster of US Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen have failed to take swift, justified action against Mexico for the imprisonment of SGT Tahmooressi, but they are sending Mexico our American tax dollars in foreign aid. As an American Voter, I pledge that I will vote AGAINST every incumbent US Senator in my State, and AGAINST my current Congressman because they have failed at even the simplest of duties. They work for me, they have failed, and it's time for them to leave. I will join millions of American voters to send all 535 Members of Congress packing their bags in November for their failure to take action. I will vote for candidates who pledge to immediately halt all foreign aid and assistance to Mexico because Mexico wrongfully imprisons our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

*Do the math: If Sgt. Tahmooressi is released 24 hours (1440 minutes) after July 18, that's nearly 4 years of a united American boycott of all Mexican commerce. The entire, pathetic and corrupt nation of Mexico will be bankrupt when Americans stop buying Mexican products and services.
And ask yourself this: In how many wars did the Mexican Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines join with the US Armed Forces to fight those who attacked the United States? Mexico has no right to accost, imprison and torture any American Serviceman or Servicewomen - - ever!

Please pass this message to everyone you know; leave a stack of copies on your subway, bus or cafeteria; email this message to your friends and relatives. United Americans will free Andrew!

This is a great idea and everyone who reads it should copy and post it on their social media sites right now. By Friday, we could begin closing down the corrupt Mexican government if they haven't returned Andy!